Largely thanks to your input and help, we’re on the home straight and are nearly ready to start exploring the world of 4G with you; we are currently on track to launch in early April. Before going any further, let’s start with a big thank-you to everyone who gave feedback on the 4G landing page and the 4,600 of you who responded to the 4G survey.

We’re excited, but we also know that launching 4G is only the start –the market and our offer will continue to evolve and we want to ensure you are shaping that journey every step of the way. In addition, we expect that the number of you with a 4G device will continue to grow from the relatively low levels we’re at today, to around a quarter of all members by the end of the year.

With this in mind, our aims for the upcoming 4G launch are simple:

Maintain ourvalue on 3G goodybags, which will continue to be the preferred option for the majority of members who are either not 4G ready or who told us in the 4G member survey that they prioritise a high data allowance over speed of connection.

Deliver a great value 4G offering at the price points which are important for our members – these were identified as £10-£15 in the 4G member survey.

Continue to improve during a 4G trial period by putting strong feedback processes in place with members to ensure that giffgaff are evolving in the right way as the 4G market grows.

For those of you who are not quite ready to make the switch to 4G, you will be pleased to know that the 3G goodybags will remain entirely unaffected by this change. Instead, three new 4G goodybags will be launched at £10, £12 and £15.

We feel that the £10 goodybag offers new members the best value at this price on the 4G market without going into longer term contracts and we will also introduce options at £12 and £15 for members who might want more data and minutes respectively. We’ve also done something special for existing members.

The first few months after launch feel like a unique opportunity to work with you to make sure that 4G on giffgaff evolves in the right way as the 4G market continues to grow. In addition, we know from 4G market research and the 4G member survey that many members are also keen to learn more about how 4G could benefit them.

For these reasons, we are launching a member only trial of 4G, which is open to anyone who joins giffgaff up to and including the day that we launch 4G. You will need a 4G ready device and a 4G SIM card to take part and you have from now until 2 months after the 4G launch to get signed up. If you want to change your 3G SIM to a 4G SIM, then find out how to do a SIM swap.

We want to make the trial as inclusive as possible, so for anyone who signs up, you’ll be able to purchase 1GB, 500 minutes and unlimited texts on 4G for only £10 per month, which matches our 3G offer. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll have access to this goodybag until 31st October 2014. Keep your eyes peeled for an email within the next couple of days and a newsfeed on Mygiffgaff inviting you to take part.

Of course, the real benefit comes from working together to improve 4G on giffgaff, so we will be asking trialists to complete a series of online surveys so that your opinions are heard and acted upon. Findings will be published and any resulting changes will also be shared. Of course, we will always do what we can to incorporate changes, but please bear in mind that there may be some suggestions which we simply cannot deliver – we will be as transparent as possible if this happens.

We really hope that as many of you as possible will sign up to our trial, but there are other ways to get your voice heard as well. Timo has kicked off a new goodybag review process which takes place every other month, so we will also be responding to your suggestions there and as always, we’d love for the 4G conversation to continue on our community page.